STATUS - SOLD
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Description :
The Thiel SCS4T speakers features a coaxially mounted tweeter and woofer which are designed, in conjunction with the first-order crossover, to maintain coherence in the time domain. The metal-dome tweeter is a slightly modified version of the one used in Thiel's flagship speaker, the CS3.7. The woofer is the same one used in Thiel's on-wall PowerPoint and PowerPlane models. Coaxially mounted drivers, while easier to be time-coherent, can present challenges like diffraction. Great care has been taken in the design of this mid/woofer to avoid the pitfalls of coaxial design. The visible aluminum cone of the midbass driver is unusually shallow, and therefore not inherently rigid. This driver is designed with a shallow diaphragm because it interferes with the tweeter very little and permits a wide dispersion characteristic relatively free from diffraction. The midbass driver is made of aluminum and is more rigid than one might expect, but the diaphragm is reinforced by laminating a polystyrene cone with a deeper profile onto the back of the aluminum cone. The result is a moving system that is very rigid and nonresonant, and therefore remains pistonic over a very wide bandwidth.

The coaxial drive-unit is mounted on an aluminum baffle that covers roughly the top third of the speaker's face. Above and below the drive-unit are forward-firing ports that are each tuned to the same frequency. The baffle meets the veneered cabinet with tight tolerances, and the front panel is gently and elegantly rounded at the sides and top to avoid diffraction. The bottom third of Thiel SCS4T's enclosure is not used to increase the speaker's low-frequency extension, but instead is a hollow, integrated stand. On the rear, attached to a rather large plastic service panel, is a single pair of robustly built five-way binding posts (the SCS4T can't be biwired or biamped). A second plastic service panel is directly behind the coaxial driver. The speaker rests on beautifully designed and made outriggers—aluminum extensions that screw into the bottom of the cabinet. Attached to the outriggers are four handsome spiked feet of aluminum finished in a gun-metal sheen, which lets the user easily level the speakers if the floor is a little uneven. The combination of outriggers and feet not only adds to the well-designed looks of Thiel SCS4T, but also greatly increases its stability as it meets the floor.

The Thiel SCS4T speakers exhibit an extended treble that is relatively resolving and free of grain. The tweeter presents the airy soundscape of the chimes while also preserving the transients of the upper partials in the guitar chords. Vocal sibilants are rendered nicely, with no undue emphasis or hash. With classical recordings, the choir's consonants sat in the same acoustic plane as the rest of the singing. The stereo image thrown by the Thiel SCS4T speakers is large and rather diffused, and seems to come from a plane slightly above the level of the tweeters. With choral recordings, this had the effect of helping the individual voices blend, and of making this chamber choir sound like a larger chorus. On finely drawn music, the effect is of large but somewhat vaguely drawn instruments sitting in the stereo image. Though the tweeter's handoff to the mid/woofer is quite seamless, there is a slight emphasis or flare above the crossover frequency, in the upper presence region, perhaps around 3.5 to 5 kHz.

The midrange is on the laid-back, relaxed side of things. The upper and middle midrange are in good balance with each other, while the lower midrange, from about 500Hz on down, is slightly shelved down. Almost all of the fundamentals of male voices and cellos lie below 500Hz, and it is in this area that music takes on its body and soul. The speaker's lean middle and upper bass meant that Thiel SCS4T exhibits competent rhythmic pacing. Bass comes through very tautly and tunefully, but with less body than with other speakers. Melodic bass lines are easy to follow, but the lowest notes seem a bit organically disconnected from the rest of the music. The Thiel SCS4T is a handsomely designed speaker, capable of throwing a large soundstage, and can be placed near a wall with very little detriment to its sound.

Specifications :
Power Driver.....................................Coaxial / Concident woofer tweeter system
Tweeter............................................2.5 cm aluminum dome, 5 neodymium magnets,
           ............................................copper pole sleeve short coil/long gap design,
           ............................................coincidentally mounted with woofer
Woofer.............................................16.5 cm with anodized aluminum diaphragm,
          .............................................stabilized by copper pole sleeve short coil/long gap design,
          .............................................die cast chassis
Bass Reflex System.........................Two ports symmetrical about driver
Bandwidth........................................33Hz to 37kHz, -3dB
Frequency Response........................36Hz to 25kH, +/- 2dB
Phase Response..............................Min +/- 10 degrees
Impedance.......................................4 ohms (Min 3)
Sensitivity........................................87dB, 2.83V at 1m, true anechoic
Recommended Power.......................50 to 200 W
Dimensions(w x d x h)......................32 x 32 x 102 cm
Weight............................................23kg per side

Miscellaneous :
Made In...........................................Designed in USA
Condition.........................................9/10

Product Information :
http://www.thielaudio.com/products/floor-standing-models/scs4t/ (Manufacturer's Website)
http://www.thielaudio.com/wp-content/docs/SCS4T_OwnMan1010.pdf (Manual)
http://www.thielaudio.com/wp-content/docs/THIELSCS4T_single0910.pdf (Brochure)

Reviews :
http://www.stereophile.com/content/thiel-audio-scs4t-loudspeaker
http://www.soundandvision.com/content/test-report-thiel-audio-scs4t-tower-speakers
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/high-end-audio-buyers-guide-floorstanding-loudspeakers-2000-5000/
http://soundstagehifi.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=292:thiel-audio-scs4t-loudspeakers&catid=55:full-length-reviews&Itemid=4
http://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/thiel_scs4t.htm
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/floor-standing-speakers/floor-standing-speakers-reviews/thiel-scs4t-speakers.html
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue58/thiel.htm
http://www.bornrich.com/thiel-audio-unveils-scs4t-two-way-floorstanding-loudspeakers.html
http://www.audioholics.com/news/thiel-scs4t-floorstanding-speaker
http://www.cepro.com/article/thiel_audio_scs4t_freestanding_loudspeaker/K537
http://www.avhub.com.au/index.php/News/Hi-Fi/thiel-scs4t-definitely-available.html